In a surprise move of "huh?" and "now?" and "really?" and "why?", Cup Noodle just put out a new commercial based on El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron... the obscure PS3/360 game from nearly 15 years ago.
(A history below...)
At E3 2010, a peculiar game trailer dropped, free from either Sony or Microsoft's big stage shows. It featured vague narration from a snazzily-dressed deep-voiced man, and gladiator combat from a seemingly airheaded prettyboy protagonist. It was barely comprehensible, but I suppose that was also its appeal...
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For reasons beyond my comprehension, this trailer absolutely took off in Japan's internet culture, becoming a huge meme on Nicovideo, spawning numerous parody and remix videos.
This one was an old fave of mine, mashing up the trailer with a famous Puyo Puyo song. Also it loops endlessly, so you never have to stop watching.
There was even a goofy no-budget live-action remake of the trailer that's hit 1.5 million views...
El Shaddai eventually launched the following year in 2011. However, despite its early meme status, the game flew criminally under the radar. While it wasn't exactly a flop, and reviewed reasonably well, it just didn't quite leave the impact it probably should've.
Which is a shame, because it was one of the few genuinely ~artfully crafted~ big-shelf games for the big-boy consoles of the era. It donned a painterly style, using pseudo-cel-shading with pastel colors and a watercolor look. The story is esoteric, the environments are abstract. And it even dared to be a bit flamboyant! Wow.
It was essentially the polar opposite of where gaming culture was at the time. And as someone who was completely disillusioned with the direction games were going in that generation, it was one of the few games I really wished I could play. But unfortunately I couldn't...
...UNTIL...!!!
In 2021, a strange miracle happened. A surprise remaster of the game launched on Steam. It too seems to have flown under the radar. But it's still there, still buyable, still playable. And the port seems to be good.
A Switch version also exists if you're so inclined.
So do y'wanna talk about "hidden gems"?? Here's your PS3/360 hidden gem!! And it's available right now, on modern platforms, running well, with no strings attached!
Did I mention it was directed by a character designer who worked on Okami and Devil May Cry? Does that pique your interest yet??
Let's right the wrongs of the past!! It's finally El Shaddai's time to shine!! MONDAI NAI!!!
The fukuoka trip joke song... meme refs aside, love other parts where it literally resembles few frames from the isotope manga like this one
and also this one
I first thought the placement of rime's clip was a mistake from the illustrator, not knowing the hint of a foreshadowing sequel of minaminominami's joke song, literally her clip resembles the emblem of the city lol
the illustrator was too eager to draw rime and making rime as a fukuoka fangirl (the illustrator is also from fukuoka) when knowing rim is from fukuoka and speaks hakata dialect
some scenes from the mv includes real footage or povs of going to fukuoka airport, anything from fukuoka hahahaha
it became natural for rime holding a signpost ever since slavevvr's bus stop song, never thought they would include this
til you realized it's not just a joke song, but that seemed a funny character song for rime 🤣🤣🤣, like it screams "no one leaves fukuoka" or "fukuoka's the best place", cuz she's literally a fukuoka fangirl here
surprisingly, unlike kafu who loves curry udon, rime loves anything that comes from fukuoka--- rime likes fukuoka ramen 😯
a list of some of the pictures i've been using lately while i've had covid to help stage off the cabin fever, all or almost all of which have varied skin tones. this is not an exhaustive list of those that do, just my faves
Couldn't find a good meme and have a staunch lack of artistic talent, so here are some picrews with Chiasa :D Also featuring the first Chiasa/Plutarch pic that I'm posting on Tumblr. (Hopefully he turned out okay... There weren't any freckle options)
If anyone wants to make their own, here are the links: